High fashion on the high seas

Amid the thousand-dollar dresses and stick-thin models, a Coast Guard small boat will grace the pages of next month’s issue of Vogue.

Courtesy of Vogue

The photo is part of a tribute in the February issue to rescue workers who cleaned up New York and New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy in October, according to fashion site Styleite.

The models also took photos with the National Guard’s 69th Infantry, Con Ed workers, Bellevue Hospital staff, and members of the NYPD and FDNY. See all the shots here.

You may think that the models are missing the most stylish accessory of all: a bright orange life vest required to be worn at all times on Coast Guard vessels while underway. An editor’s note explains that the “models were photographed safely at the North Cove marina in Battery Park City, under direct Coast Guard supervision.”

The article on Styleite praises the shoot as conveying “the strength of the teams and magnitude of the event with grace,” unlike most “tone deaf” fashion magazines. What do you think? Is this a great way to pay tribute to the emergency personnel who worked around the clock after the disaster?